Legislative Branch

Do you meet the standards ?

Legislative Branch

Do you meet the standards ?

What is a Legislative branch ?

It is a branch made up of officials that are in charge of making laws. It is also made up of two houses of congress, the house of Representatives and the Senate

Who is in it ?

In the Legislative branch, there are 435 members at the house of Representatives. At the Senate, there are 100 Senators total, (two for each state). The speaker for the house of Representatives is Paul D. Ryan.

Majority Leader = Kevin McCarthy

Democratic Leader = Nancy Pelosi

Senators of Massachusetts = Elizabeth Warren & Ed Markey

Representative of Andover = Niki Tsongas

Vice President = Joseph Biden- NOT a Senator but he may vote on a tiebreaker

President Pro Tempore = Orrin Hatch

Political Party Leader of Senate = Mitch McConnell

Democratic Leader in Senate = Harry Reid

What are the requirements to become a member ?

To become a member of the Representatives you need to be 25 years old or older, you need to be a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and you must be at the time of of the election an inhabitant of the state you represent. To become a member of the Senate you need to be at least 30 years old, you have to be a U.S citizen for at least nine years, and you must live in the state you want to represent.

How often are they elected ?

Representatives are elected every two years and they serve two year terms. There is no limit on how many terms a Representative may serve. Senators are elected every six years and they also serve six year terms.

What do they do ?

Every member in the house of Representatives represents their people in their designated area of a state by themselves. The house of Representatives make and then pass laws. The House may only impeach a government official. They also decide whether to vote for or against every bill that comes before the full house of Representatives. If you are a Senate, you would represent the people living in your state and you would also write and vote on new laws. Sometimes you will give a really long speech to delay the process of passing a bill, this is called a filibuster.

Delegated and Implied powers

Delegated powers are the powers written in the U.S Constitution. Some examples of Delegated powers are Collect taxes, establish post offices, regulate trade, declare war, raise and support an armed force, grant copyrights and patents, and make rules for citizenship.

More Delegated Powers are :

- Borrowing

- Naturalization, Bankruptcy

- Coins, Weights, Measures

- Counterfeiting

- Federal Courts

- Piracy

- Army

- Navy

- Rules for Military

- Militia

- Rules for Militia

- National Capitol

Implied powers are the assumed powers. They are assumed powers because they are necessary to use and they are not formally written in the U.S Constitution. These laws are based on the Commerce laws. Some examples of Implied powers are regulate transportation, and set television standards.

Differences between each house ?

The house of Representatives is one of the two house of the United States Congress. The house of Representatives makes and passes laws too. The Senate is the other house that makes up the United States Congress. The differences are that in the House of Representatives there are 435 representatives and in the Senate there are 100 senators. Another difference is that the House of Representatives is based off of the Virginia plan and the Senate is based off of the New Jersey plan

How does a bill become a law ?

A bill becomes a law when it has passed the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the President approves it, the bill becomes a law.

Steps:

1. The Bill begins - (The Bill is considered to be an idea. If you think of a good idea for a bill you can contact your Representatives and discuss your idea)

2. The Bill is proposed - (the bill needs a sponsor, when it has a sponsor, it gets introduced)

3. The Bill is introduced - ( The bill gets placed in the hopper, a box on the side of the clerks desk. only reps can introduce bills in the House) (4)

4. The Bill goes to Committee - ( the committee researches reviews and revises the bill and decides whether to sent it back to the house floor)

5. The Bill is reported - (When the U.S committee approves a bill, it is sent to the house floor to be debated on by the Reps.)

6. The Bill is debated - (when a bill is debated, The Representatives debate on the bill and say if they agree or disagree)

7. The Bill is Voted on - ( The way the vote is the when the Speaker of the house ask the Representatives who support the bill to say aye.)

8. The Bill is sent to the Senate ( the bill gets discussed about and then is is sent to the Senate floor to be voted on)

9. The Bill is sent to the President - (He can sign and pass the bill, he can veto or decline the bill or do nothing.)

10. The Bill is a law - ( when passed both houses and the President it becomes a bill)